Parker McKenzie
Encyclopedia
Parker Paul McKenzie was an American linguist
and, at the time of his death, the oldest living Kiowa
Native American
.
McKenzie was born in a teepee, and baptised
in the Washita River
. He was educated at the Rainy Mountain Kiowa Boarding School where it was mandatory to speak the English Language
; those who used the Kiowa language
were threatened with physical punishment. Afterwards, he attended the Phoenix Indian Boarding School, Union High School, Lamson College, and Oklahoma State University.
When in 1918 the Smithsonian Institution
sent the anthropologist John Peabody Harrington
to Oklahoma
to study the language of the Kiowa, McKenzie was his translator. This began a decades-long scientific examination and recording of the Kiowa language which until then had been purely an oral language. They jointly developed a valid phonetic
alphabet, which also resulted in the publication of Vocabulary of the Kiowa Language (1928) and Popular Account of the Kiowa Indian Language (1948), in a collaboration that extended into the 1950s. All this time, from the 1920s-1950s, McKenzie - never an academic - was a stenographer in the Indians Monies Section of the Bureau of Indian Affairs
.
Late in his life, in close cooperation with Laurel Watkins, McKenzie published A Grammar of Kiowa 1984. Some compared his work with the development of the Sequoyah
and Cherokee alphabets. He also translated many texts from English, including Baptist
hymn
s.
His contributions to the Kiowa were honoured by the University of Colorado
in 1991 with the awarding of an honorary doctorate, and his 100th birthday was honoured with a ceremony in the Red Buffalo Hall of the Kiowa Tribal Complex in Carnegie, Oklahoma
. McKenzie was a Freemason
.
McKenzie died in 1999 at the age of 101 years, and was interred at Anadarko, Oklahoma
. After his death, he was elected to the Oklahoma Historians Hall of Fame.
He was married to Nettie, who he had met at school, and had two daughters, Esther Hayes of Mountain View and Kathryn Collier of Wewoka.
They also had three sons, William, Henry, and Robert, all deceased.
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
and, at the time of his death, the oldest living Kiowa
Kiowa
The Kiowa are a nation of American Indians and indigenous people of the Great Plains. They migrated from the northern plains to the southern plains in the late 17th century. In 1867, the Kiowa moved to a reservation in southwestern Oklahoma...
Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
.
McKenzie was born in a teepee, and baptised
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
in the Washita River
Washita River
The Washita River is a river in Texas and Oklahoma, United States. The river is long and terminates into Lake Texoma in Johnston County , Oklahoma and the Red River.-Geography:...
. He was educated at the Rainy Mountain Kiowa Boarding School where it was mandatory to speak the English Language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
; those who used the Kiowa language
Kiowa language
Kiowa is a Kiowa–Tanoan language spoken by the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma in primarily Caddo, Kiowa, and Comanche counties. The Kiowa tribal center is located in Carnegie...
were threatened with physical punishment. Afterwards, he attended the Phoenix Indian Boarding School, Union High School, Lamson College, and Oklahoma State University.
When in 1918 the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
sent the anthropologist John Peabody Harrington
John Peabody Harrington
John Peabody Harrington was an American linguist and ethnologist and a specialist in the native peoples of California. Harrington is noted for the massive volume of his documentary output, most of which has remained unpublished: the shelf space in the Library of Congress dedicated to his work...
to Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
to study the language of the Kiowa, McKenzie was his translator. This began a decades-long scientific examination and recording of the Kiowa language which until then had been purely an oral language. They jointly developed a valid phonetic
Phonetics
Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that comprises the study of the sounds of human speech, or—in the case of sign languages—the equivalent aspects of sign. It is concerned with the physical properties of speech sounds or signs : their physiological production, acoustic properties, auditory...
alphabet, which also resulted in the publication of Vocabulary of the Kiowa Language (1928) and Popular Account of the Kiowa Indian Language (1948), in a collaboration that extended into the 1950s. All this time, from the 1920s-1950s, McKenzie - never an academic - was a stenographer in the Indians Monies Section of the Bureau of Indian Affairs
Bureau of Indian Affairs
The Bureau of Indian Affairs is an agency of the federal government of the United States within the US Department of the Interior. It is responsible for the administration and management of of land held in trust by the United States for Native Americans in the United States, Native American...
.
Late in his life, in close cooperation with Laurel Watkins, McKenzie published A Grammar of Kiowa 1984. Some compared his work with the development of the Sequoyah
Sequoyah
Sequoyah , named in English George Gist or George Guess, was a Cherokee silversmith. In 1821 he completed his independent creation of a Cherokee syllabary, making reading and writing in Cherokee possible...
and Cherokee alphabets. He also translated many texts from English, including Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
hymn
Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
s.
His contributions to the Kiowa were honoured by the University of Colorado
University of Colorado System
The University of Colorado system is a system of public universities in Colorado consisting of three universities in four campuses: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, and University of Colorado Denver in downtown Denver and at the Anschutz Medical Campus in...
in 1991 with the awarding of an honorary doctorate, and his 100th birthday was honoured with a ceremony in the Red Buffalo Hall of the Kiowa Tribal Complex in Carnegie, Oklahoma
Carnegie, Oklahoma
Carnegie is a town in Caddo County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,723 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Carnegie is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all of it land....
. McKenzie was a Freemason
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
.
McKenzie died in 1999 at the age of 101 years, and was interred at Anadarko, Oklahoma
Anadarko, Oklahoma
Anadarko is a city in Caddo County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 6,645 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Caddo County.-Early History:Anadarko got its name when its post office was established in 1873...
. After his death, he was elected to the Oklahoma Historians Hall of Fame.
He was married to Nettie, who he had met at school, and had two daughters, Esther Hayes of Mountain View and Kathryn Collier of Wewoka.
They also had three sons, William, Henry, and Robert, all deceased.